December 1, 2009
Today’s Program WestCare (Drug Rehab) Today’s Speaker Robert Neri
WESTCARE’S Senior Vice-President/Chief Clinical Officer, Bob Neri, is a Licensed Mental Health Clinician (LMHC) in the State of Florida and holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from Vermont College. Mr. Neri is also a Certified Addictions Professional (CAP) and a Certified Domestic Violence Facilitator.
Mr. Neri has over twenty years experience working in the health care field and has been responsible for designing, overseeing and maintaining the clinical operations of non-profit substance abuse treatment providers in West Central Florida. Throughout his career he has developed and managed residential therapeutic communities for adolescents and adults. In addition to his work with WestCare, Mr. Neri served as the Executive Vice-President for Operation PAR, Inc., where he worked for 23 years, and more recently was the Clinical Director for Phoenix Houses of Florida, Inc.
Additionally, Mr. Neri is nationally known and recognized for his knowledge, expertise, and experience designing treatment systems for substance abusers in the criminal justice system and specialized treatment for women and their children. He has published several journal and research articles relating to that experience.
A brief listing of Mr. Neri’s past and present affiliations include the following:
- Past Chairperson, Standards and Ethics Committee for Therapeutic Communities of America (TCA).
- Past Member, Certification Board for Addiction Professionals of Florida 1989-1995.
- Adjunct professor in Human Services, St. Petersburg Junior College.
- Expert Witness, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Drug Abuse, “Crack Cocaine” hearings on behalf of Governor Lawton Chiles (1986) and MacDill Air Force Base (1989).
- Training Consultant, Florida Department of Corrections.
What’s Happening
December YCPO Projects
Please join us for one or both of these worthwhile projects
Christmas Angels – Beginning Tuesday November 24, 2009 we will have Christmas Angels available – We once again are working with the Pinellas County Foster Parents Association to try and brighten 100 foster children’s Christmas. Each Angel lists a child’s name and wish list. Please select the child or children you wish to buy for and bring wrapped gifts to the Tuesday December 15th meeting. We also will have our Christmas Shopper Service for those of you who would like to participate but don’t like to shop. You simply need to choose the Angels for the children you would like to sponsor and then give the shopping team a minimum of $25 per child, and they will do the rest. For any of you that will be out of town on the 15th and cannot attend the meeting, please drop your wrapped gifts off at Kathy Condon’s office at 100 2nd Avenue North, Suite 320, 33701, between 8 and 5 Monday through Friday. (Report from Kathy Condon.)
Help A Child – YWCA Homeless Shelter Christmas Party Gift Wrap and Assembly Project. Kiwanians will wrap presents and assemble toys Friday December 11, 2009, at First United Methodist Church Hall beginning at 9 A.M. Please give us an hour or two on Friday December 11, help will be needed all day. Donations will be arriving throughout the day so anytime before, during, or after your work day there will be items that need to be assembled or wrapped. Please bring your own wrapping paper, bows/ribbon, scissors, tape etc., or your own tools to the event. As always, Bobbi Gilgosh has invited anyone who is available to come to the Christmas Party on Saturday December 12, 2009 at First United Methodist Church. Hall doors open at 9A.M. and Santa will be there by 10 A.M. To watch the reaction of the kids as they see the wrapped presents is memorable and heart-warming. (Report from Kathy Condon.)
Christmas Trees
Support our fellow Kiwanis Club, Sunshine City, who is partnering with Palm Lake Christian Church, by purchasing a Christmas tree from their lot. We will be selling the trees from now until they are gone at the church which is located at 5401 22nd
Avenue N, St. Petersburg.
Kiwanis Holiday Progressive Dinner
Tis the season for the not always annual Kiwanis Holiday Progressive Dinner. Mark the calendar for December 12th. Cathy Swanson, Mitch Cochran, and Harvey Ford have cheerfully opened their homes for the Kiwanis Club to enjoy the holiday spirit. There is a forty person limit, so sign up early.
The evenings schedule:
5 p.m. – Appetizers at Cathy’s home (5281 Venetian Blvd NE 33703)
6:30 p.m. +/- - Dinner at Harvey’s home (7477 18th Street NE 33702)
8 p.m. +/- - Dessert at Mitch’s home (2061 Hawaii Avenue NE 33703)
Thank You
A letter from Paul Renker’s daughter for the Scholarship donations for Paul’s grandson is below:
Dear Kiwanis Club of St. Pete,
Thank you so very much for the Grandfather gift. We were so surprised and excited to learn about this tradition because it is such a great start to our son’s college fund. We appreciate you thinking about Jakob Gibson Leslie and all of your well wishes.
Love, Sara, Derek, and Jakob Leslie
Mission Possible
Your mission, should you choose to accept it is: ring a bell for one hour at the Northeast Shopping Center on Wednesday, December 16, 2009, for the Salvation Army. Check with J.C. Russell to sign up.
Rembrandt, Dali, Gauguin, Michelangelo
What do you have in common with them? You can paint like those guys at the YWCA House on Saturday, January 16, 2010, 429 6th Ave S, St Petersburg. Check with Pat Biscotti to volunteer.
Let’s Make A Deal
The Kiwanis Club gave Bobbi Gilgosh and the YWCA $2,000.00. She spends the money to the YWCA Shelter a better place. What a deal! Thank you Kiwanis Boys and Girls and Young Children Priority One Committees.
Profile of Dr. Ron O’Neal
After attending the latest Project Save-A-Smile, my girlfriend, Cathie, asked me what motivated Ron to be involved with such a wonderful project. I told her I really did not know, but I was curious to find out.
At lunch last week Ron explained to me what fired him up to bring Project Save-A-Smile to fruition. At the University Of Florida School Of Dentistry, Ron and his classmates worked on the indigent and less fortunate souls of the Gainesville community. As an aspiring dentist, he could see that these patients needed and deserved dental help as much as anyone, but fate has kept them from the help that the fortunate enjoy.
Ron is a big believer that life is just one big roulette wheel, and it is only a matter of luck as to how an individual turns out as to one’s family, environment, and health. As Ron told me “99% of Ron O’Neal is luck, 1% of me is through hard work.”
It is Ron’s ambition to make this event bigger and help to encourage other area dentists to get involved as well. Markus Mittermayr, as Lt. Governor, wants to turn the project into a Division or District event. With Ron’s direction and the Kiwanis support, there appears to be no limit to the amount of children that can be assisted in their dental needs.
Speaking of Kiwanis, Ron acknowledged the project has far exceeded his expectations thanks to our help. He especially threw mega kudos to Kathy Condon for all that she does for the event: the planning and organization, recruiting sponsors, finding the children to assist, organizing the volunteers, and the after action reports. In fact, Ron thinks Kathy is so familiar with the operation that she could run Project Save-A-Smile herself with his staff.
Ron wanted to thank two particular individuals, Dr. Amley, who donated braces to two children and Ed Chester, former Gator defensive lineman who signed autographs for hours on end.
And did you know Project Save-A-Smile resulted in an addition to the O’Neal Family? Yes, one of the Project Save-A-Smile patients, a four year old boy, Khalid, was adopted by Ron and his wife, Blair. Khalid was a foster child staying at the Salvation Army. So one never knows where a helping hand will lead you.
Thanks, Ron, and now you know….. the rest of the story.
P.S. Last year, Ron also made arrangements for a teenage girl to receive full crowns for her teeth as part of the Dream Foundation.
Last Week at Kiwanis
Kiwanian of the Day, Doug Lampe, introduced Mike Schulze, Director of Communications and Sponsorships for the Outback Bowl. As the seventh highest payout (each team receives 3.3 million dollars) among bowl games and the first of the New Year’s Day bowl games, the Outback Bowl is a major player in the menagerie of thirty-four bowl games.
Now in their 20th season with Outback Steakhouse as the sponsor, the Outback Bowl’s ambition is threefold:
- Create an economic impact
The game is estimated to generate approximately 40 million dollars for the area. Forty thousand guests are expected this year.
- Exposure for the Tampa Bay region
With the national exposure by ESPN Television and the game broadcasted in ninety countries, our area is showcased to millions of potential visitors. It is expected that up to 500 media members will attend this year’s game.
- Develop enthusiasm for local residents to attend the game and the ancillary activities.
The Outback Bowl includes many events open to the public including a golf tournament, dining experiences with the players and coaches (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), a New Year’s Eve parade in Ybor City, Beach Day, and a Pre-game Bash. As locals, besides attending the game, plenty of opportunities for the serious and not-so-serious fans are available.
With a tie-in with the two most popular football conferences, the Outback Bowl selects teams from the SEC and the Big Ten to oppose one another. With an influx of Midwestern transplants and the southern flavor in our area, the Outback Bowl is a perfect fit.
So, all of you Kiwanians, don’t be a couch potato and get involved with the Outback Bowl. Thanks, Mike, for the presentation on one of the best yearly events in Tampa Bay.
Guests and Visitors
We had 40 members and 3 guests: Richard Sanchez, guest of Harvey Ford; Bobbi Gilgosh, guest of the Kiwanis Club.
This Week’s Quiz
- Of the four major American team sports (NFL,MLB,NBA,NHL) which has the longest tenured coach for the same team?
- Where does the only alpine parrot live?
- Name the Seven Seas.
- What is the GPA for the Blutarsky character (John Belushi) in Animal House?
- Which state harvests the most corn? The most wheat?
Last Week’s Quiz
- These players are listed with their college teams that played in the Outback Bowl:
Brian Griese Michigan
Drew Brees Purdue
Tim Couch Kentucky
Sidney Rice South Carolina
Heath Shuler Tennessee
Robert Gallery Iowa
- The price of the first Outback Bowl ticket was $20.00. Boston College beat Georgia 27-24 on December 23, 1986.
- The record attendance for the Outback Bowl was 68,065 in 1990 when Auburn played Ohio State.
- The teams that have appeared in the Outback Bowl games the most times are Michigan and Ohio State. Each has appeared four times.
- There are 11,000 tickets distributed to each school for which they are financially responsible.
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